PART FIVE -- PRE-ATTACK SECURITY

I. 24 MAU, BLT 1/8 HEADQUARTERS COMPOUND

A. Principal Findings.

The USMNF/MAU Headquarters compound primarily occupied three buildings, in the administrative area of the Beirut International Airport (BIA). BIA is an active international airport which serviced an average of some 35 flights and 2,400 passengers a day during the two-week period preceding the bombing of the BLT Headquarters building. Approximately 1,000 civilians are employed at BIA, and ground traffic to and from the area is estimated at about 3,00 vehicles daily.

Figure 5-1 depicts the major features referred to hereafter. The MAU Headquarters was located in the former Airport Fire Fighting School facilities at Beirut International Airport. The structure is a two-story building with floors, ceiling, and walls constructed of reinforced concrete. The first (ground) floor consists of six vehicle bays accessed by metal doors, several offices and a utility room.

The second floor, accessed by a circular staircase, consists of administrative offices. Exposed openings had been reinforced with protective sandbag walls. The roof, accessed by an exterior ladder, was used as an antenna farm. The MAU Service Support Group (MSSG) Headquarters was located immediately across the road to the northwest of the MAU Headquarters building. The structure is a single story, reinforced concrete and steel building which was reinforced at exposed openings by protective sandbag walls.

The Battalion Landing Team (BLT) Headquarters was located in a four-story building southwest of the MAU Headquarters.. (The Building is described in detail in the following section).

Buildings utilized by Lebanese Civil Aviation Authorities in the immediate vicinity of the USMNF facilities included the Civil Aviation School directly west

The building originally housed the headquarters of the Government of Lebanon's Aviation Administration Bureau. It had been successively occupied by the PLO, the Syrians, and finally by the Israelis, the latter using it as a field hospital during their 1982 invasion. The first U.S. Marine Corps unit ashore in September 1982 occupied the building as the command post for a Battalion Landing Team (BLT).

Initially, security for the force was not the paramount consideration of the USMNF. The Marines, for the most part, were welcomed, particularly so in clearing up mines and unexploded ordnance left behind as a result of the PLO/Israeli conflict. Tactical security was established appropriate to mission tasking and the perceived threat. Subsequently as military involvement between warring Lebanese confessional groups worsened, LAF training was halted, mobile patrols were reduced and security enhancements were instituted as follows:

Bunkers were hardened.

The number and depth of defensive positions were increased.

Perimeter security was improved.

Security provisions from 29 September 1982 to 22 October 1983 were such that, despite occasional light to heavy hostile artillery, rocket and sniper fire, Marine casualties

Upon assuming BIA defensive positions, BLT 1/8 continued the security enhancement work of BLT 2/6. Sandbags were filled and emplaced within all positions. It is estimated that from 29 May to 23 October 1983, some 500,000 sandbags were filled and emplaced in addition to 10,000 feet of concertina wire, and 1,000 engineer stakes. This equates to approximately 20 tons of materials.

On 30 May 1983, BLT 1/8 (24th MAU) occupied the building. The 1st Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment formed the nucleus of BLT 1/8. The battalion consisted of three infantry companies, a weapons company, and a headquarters and service company. BLT 1/8 had a strength of approximately 1250 personnel. This figure remained relatively constant. On any given day from 30 May 1983 until 23 October, BLT 1/8 consisted of approximately 59 Marine officers, 1143 enlisted Marines, 3 Navy officers, 52 Navy enlisted, 3 Army officers and 28 Army enlisted.

The basement of the building consisted of two larger rooms connected by an east-west passageway (See Figure 5-4). The west room was basically a storage area for foodstuffs for the field mess to include produce, dry storage, canned goods, paper materials, and dairy products. The east room was divided between a troop recreation area and the battalion aid station. An access tunnel into this room was securely blocked and guarded 24 hours a day (See Figure 5-5). In the recreation area were picnic chairs and tables, pool and ping-pong tables, video games, and a television set with a video cassette recorder for movies. Beer, soda and snacks were stored and sold in this area. In the aid station, the battalion's medical equipment was arranged to handle normal sick call, emergencies, and, if required, casualty triage. All battalion medical records were stored in this area.

The ground floor lobby (See Figure 5-6) was kept clear for security reasons. Should the building be penetrated, fire could be directed from the upper stories down into an open area. The filed mess was located beneath the extreme western side of the building overhang, behind a sandbag and screen wall which completely enclosed the area. Seating capacity for the mess was approximately 150 personnel. Adjacent to the mess, and within the building proper, were the armory and S-4 (logistics) storage areas. A small number of anti-tank missiles prepositioned here for use in building defense and on foot and patrols. A definitive listing of ordnance involved cannot be complied until the final results of the FBI's forensic investigation are made available. From available information, however, it appears that the only other ordnance in the building was the basic load of ammunition carried by individual Marines.

The TOW (anti-tank missile) section was billeted behind a sandbag wall beneath the overhang on the extreme eastern side. Adjacent to the TOW section, and within the building, was the Lebanese vendor's shop. The vendor sold soda, candy, souvenirs, and health and comfort items. He often slept in his shop's storage area and is believed to have been killed in the explosion on 23 October. Adjacent to the vendor's area was another storage room used for beer and

The first floor housed the key personnel of the battalion's command structure (See Figure 5-7). In the western-most offices were the Battalion Commander, the Intelligence Officer, the Operations Officer, and the Sergeant Major. Adjacent to their offices was the Combat Operations Center from where the battalion's day-to-day functions were controlled and coordinated. The eastern section of the first floor housed the battalion's administrative offices, classified material storage, and postal services. in the southern connecting hallway were the guards' quarters.. There were small rooms in the northern hallway where company grade officers and staff NCO's lived and worked.

The second floor (See Figure 5-8) was more open than the first floor. The battalion's communications platoon worked and resided in the west section which contained their maintenance, battery, and wire shops. The east section housed the engineers and their portable equipment storage area. The north hallway housed the reconnaissance platoon and the south hallway housed that portion of the weapons company which had not been attached to the outlying rifle companies or deployed to general support positions (81mm mortar platoon).

The third floor (See Figure 5-9) was the most open and least populated of the three floors. The west section contained a small chapel, and a recreation area and movie room for staff NCO's and officers. The west section also housed the cooks and messmen. The east section contained a small library and the chaplain's office. The battalion medical officer and senior enlisted members of the medical platoon also resided in this area. medical supplies were stored there, and sick call had been held in the southeast corner room until early August. Both the north and the south hallways housed a variety of key personnel who manned roof top positions. They included teams of artillery forward observers, naval gunfire spotters, forward air

On the roof (See Figure 5-10) were several sandbagged observation positions used by the various team members. Also on the roof were over a dozen communications antennae, including those on HF, VHF, and UHF frequencies.

Two enlisted Marines from the Forward Air Control (FAC) team were asleep on the roof on the morning of the explosion and escaped unharmed. They testified that the IOS was manned 24 hours a day, every day. These team members manned the position on the extreme eastern end of the roof in order to observe their area of primary interest: the Shuf Mountains. it should be emphasized that these teams were not responsible for security in the immediate vicinity of the building proper; that was the responsibility of the Security Guard Force.

B. Discussion.

The interior of the building was utilized in a manner that facilitated command, control, coordination and communication both within the battalion and to senior, subordinate and supporting units. Effective use was made of the rooftop by key supporting arms team members. The total number of personnel billeted and working in and around the building averaged approximately 350 out of an average BLT strength of 1250. Since the BLT Headquarters building contained the only field mess in the 24th MAU, the number of personnel in and around the building during meal hours may have exceeded 400.

Notwithstanding the utility derived from the use of the building in question, and acknowledging the fact that the building did provide protection to personnel from incoming fire, the BLT Commander failed to observe the basic security precaution of dispersion. The practice of dispersion is fundamental and well understood by the military at every echelon. It basically is the spreading or separating of troops, material activities, or establishments to reduce their vulnerability to enemy action. The BLT Commander did not follow this accepted practice and permitted the concentration of approximately one-fourth of his command in a relatively confined location thereby presenting a lucrative target to hostile elements. The MAU Commander condoned this decision.

In practice, modifications were made to the guard order. For instance, only sentries at Posts 1, 2, and 3 kept magazines in their weapons at all times. post 4, 5, 6, and 6 were manned with one sentry during daylight hours. Post 8 was not manned at the time of the attack. The BLT Order specified that such modifications would be noted in the Guard Logbook, which is presumed to have been destroyed in the explosion. The security posture on 23 October 1983 at the MAU/BLT compound, as described in testimony by surviving witnesses, was not in compliance with published directives for Alert Conditions II or III.

Marines assigned to the BLT guard wore the utility uniform with helmet, flak jacket, belt suspenders, M16 rifle, flashlight and a cartridge belt containing two filed canteens, first aid kit, two magazine pouches with six magazines and a total of 120 rounds. The SOG was armed with a .45 caliber pistol. All personnel carried an ROE card in their flak jacket. During hours of darkness, night vision goggles were issued. There were not anti-tank weapons on any post. Anti-tank missile launchers (TOW) were, however, positioned on the roof.